MakersPlace at SXSW (3/12/2019)

Last week our CEO and Co-Founder Dannie Chu was invited to speak on a panel at the SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas. He joined Jeanne Anderson (GM of Saatchi Art), Ysabel Lemay (Visual Artist), and Desi Gonzalez (Content Strategist for the City of Austin) to discuss how technology is transforming art collecting, and more specifically how blockchain technology is introducing a new generation to collecting and owning digital art.

The discussion covered the following topics:

How online platforms like Saatchi Art have transformed how art collectors buy and sell art.

The shift from selling art through traditional galleries to selling through online platforms, from the perspective of Ysabel Lemay (a fine artist of over 15 years)

How MakersPlace is using blockchain technology to empower digital artists by providing ownership, authenticity and scarcity over their work.

How technology is allowing for there to be increased transparency in the art world, particularly price and data transparency.

How online marketplaces are empowering artists to take back more control over their work, their business and gain increased exposure. Galleries have traditionally been the gatekeepers for art, but technology is now providing more opportunities by democratizing the distribution and sale of art.

Insights into the new ways that collectors and curators are experiencing art online through platforms like Pinterest and social media.

How technology has changed how artists connect and engage with their collectors.

Where we still have work to do, to increase access to art.

Even with the proliferation of technologies, where does technology take a back seat to the human connection when experiencing art?

We were honored to have shared MakersPlace’s viewpoint on empowering artists and creators through technology, alongside a rockstar panel. We recommend listening to the full audio recording which is available on the SXSW event page or on Soundcloud.

Finally, we’re excited to have featured a number of digital artworks and the artists on MakersPlace throughout the panel. Here are all the digital artworks that were featured, and are available for sale on MakersPlace.